'Chevy Bad Boys' say they're 'tough, dependable' Badgers linebackers
MADISON, Wis. -- The way Marcus Trotter sees it, Wisconsin's entire linebacker unit found itself facing an identity crisis of sorts this offseason. A veteran group that featured Chris Borland, Ethan Armstrong, Brendan Kelly and Conor O'Neill was gone, which left the remaining Badgers to search for their own unique characteristics to mesh as a unit.
"We had a lot of guys that I don't want to say were young but hadn't had the experience of the seniors," Trotter said. "I wanted us to have a group mentality where we had that swag on the field, just having swag and having fun and just being loose."
And thus, the Chevy Bad Boys were born.
What in the world are the Chevy Bad Boys, you ask? Allow Trotter to fill in the blanks.
"Back in the day, the defensive backs used to call themselves the Badger Bad Boys," he said. "I didn't want to say Badger Bad Boys. So we've got obviously a lot of white guys on the linebackers that are from the country. They love their Chevys. I replaced Badger Bad Boys with the Chevy Bad Boys. We say it before every practice. We come together and say we're the Chevy Bad Boys after games. It's just instilling a mentality that we're trying to be the best linebacking corps in the country and in the Big Ten."
Trotter, a fifth-year senior, is among a group of five linebackers that rank 2-6 in total tackles for Wisconsin this season, from Derek Landisch (43 tackles) to Joe Schobert (38) to Trotter (38) to Vince Biegel (32) to Leon Jacobs (24). That core group has accounted for 15 total sacks and is a big reason the Badgers rank No. 1 nationally in total defense through eight games (253.8 yards).
"It's a group of guys that we kind of play hard on the field together but we're also a great group of friends off the field as well," Biegel said. "We like to hang out together off the field. It's kind of a brotherhood where it's an 'I got your back, you got my back' type deal. The Chevy Bad Boys, I love those guys to death. I'm excited to have a fun rest of the season with those seniors, and I'm excited what the future holds for the rest of those guys, too."
Trotter noted he initially approached fellow seniors Landisch and Ben Ruechel about the nickname, but the idea fell mostly on deaf ears.
"It really didn't stick at first," Trotter said. "After the second or third game when we started doing a lot better, I started saying it a lot more during practice, and now they just love it. We always talk about it, and we live it."
Trotter and Biegel are among the most boisterous players on the team, apt to lead the defense in celebration following a bone-jarring hit or a big play. And there has been plenty to celebrate this season.
Wisconsin ranks third nationally in scoring defense, allowing only 14.1 points per game. The Badgers have allowed fewer than 15 points per game in a season only three times in the last 50 years. This year's defense also is surrendering 4.32 yards per play, which ranks fourth in the FBS. And much of the run-stuffing and sacking has come from the linebackers.
"I think they're a group that's anxious to learn and apply what they learn on the practice field and in the meeting rooms to the field," Badgers coach Gary Andersen said. "I think they've done a good job with that. They're tight-knit. If I just put it in a nutshell, I'd say their drive to get better on and off the field is very, very impressive. The communication has been good from them in the last couple weeks in games, which has helped them."
With four regular-season games remaining, Trotter remains confident the linebackers have found an identity that will help carry them through to something special. They represent everything he had hoped in dubbing the group the Chevy Bad Boys.
"A tough, dependable linebacker that likes to play the game and have some swag," Trotter said. "That's what it is."
Tindal update: Andersen said freshman cornerback Derrick Tindal, whose mother died this week, would travel with the team to Purdue for Saturday's game. Tindal missed last week's game against Rutgers while dealing with what was termed a personal issue.
Tindal tweeted a picture Wednesday of him and his mother from what appeared to be his high school graduation, and Andersen said an outpouring of support had come from teammates this week.
"He has practiced and wants to play, which is a credit to him," Andersen said following Thursday's practice. "The kids on the team have been absolutely fantastic with him. I'm sure he's going to have his ups and downs as we go through this process with him. But it's important to him to get on that airplane, and we're definitely going to allow him that opportunity."
Tindal, the team's third cornerback, has tallied nine tackles with one sack this season. Andersen said he was less concerned about the way Tindal would handle playing football compared to what he may endure off the field.
"Just going through that at that young of age, I think we can all imagine it's a very trying time, to say the least," Andersen said. "My No. 1 goal is to support him, just like I told his mom when we recruited him that we'd be there for him to take care of him, and we will be. We'll give him whatever he needs to fight through this. He's a tough-minded young kid that's battling right now but battling very tough."
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